<p>I've been browsing through the boards, and i'm just curious why do so many of you guys have elitist type attitude toward college? It seems that if a college is not IVY or if it doesn't fall into one of the Tiers then it's dismissed. It is, at least to me a very disturbing perspective. I'm attending either Hunter, Lang or St. Johns in the fall, and i'm proud to say that I am. I have legacy at BU and Harvard, and I got into one of two, but neither is a fit for me right now. I also got into Bowdoin. I dunno, it just struck me, that many people on here are viewing the process all wrong. It's not where you go, but what you do. You'll find the best everywhere. And when you get into the workplace you will find that you need more than just the name of your school on the degree. This wasn't meant to be confrontational, but I witnessed too many of my peers face rejection and then feel bad because they let down their parents. It's not about them, its about you. </p>
<p>I have been a member of this site for two months and your post is the second on this topic.</p>
<p>Elle, we live in a society where social status is important.
Why do you think some people buy Lexus or BMW?
Why do you think some people aim for the most prestigious jobs (lawyers and doctors)?</p>
<p>Don't let anybody put you down because of your school. Many schools have brilliant students, some of whom cannot afford to go to a more well-known school, they want to live close to family, or they just love their community and don't want to leave it. </p>
<p>I went to two schools that are fourth tier (according to U.S. News and World Report) and will attend a first tier one in the fall. But I am proud of the education I received from the two schools.</p>
<p>By and large, the people here would like to attend the best possible college that they can. Do they sometimes take this to far--yes, sometimes people here and elsewhere become far too focused on a pretty name and do not concentrate enough on fit. But being that the "average" CC applicant is far, far above average academically (and personally, and extracurricularly), it stands to reason that there is a lot of focus on big name schools. While I would certainly counsel against applying to and matriculating at any school that is not a good fit--even Harvard!--and do not support HYPMS tunnel vision, I also think that being as there are AT LEAST 100 or so "top tier" universities and colleges, there should be at least a few schools on that list where a qualified applicant could find a good fit. Perhaps this will sound elitist, and perhaps it is, but I don't understand why--besides monetary reasons--an applicant who is qualified for this level of schools should not try to get into one of the top schools where they have a good fit. There really isn't another way to say it more nicely, but the top tier schools are the top because they have the relatively best facilities, programs, professors, and students. To use MikeU's analogy, is a BMW necessary to have to get you to school and work and the doctor? No, any old car that runs will do. But is a BMW more stylish, more comfortable, and all around better than the old car that just runs? Yeah, it is. If you can afford a BMW, you wouldn't usually make do with an old car that just runs. In my mind, the same theory applies to colleges, and if that's elitist, than call me elitist.</p>
<p>Of course, my question would be, why did you apply to schools that didn't fit you? Even if these two did not, I find it near to unimaginable that a student qualified for top tier schools could not find ANY that were good fits for him/her. The variety in the top tier colleges and universities is tremendous.</p>
<p>I cannot leave my family, its not that i won't. I can't. When i applied, back in...december i could and i was hoping things would change but they havent. </p>
<p>when i say they're not a fit, i mean not because i dont like the schools its just leaving NYC is no longer an option.</p>
<p>My post was regarding the feeling of disdain some posters have toward schools that are not Ivy league. I was wondering why that was. I mean, yes shoot high, but give it a rest. Some people on here do not seem like they have any other concerns aside from getting into a name school. I know for a fact, that this process doesn't have to be this stressful. </p>
<p>this is how it goes.."my daughter wants to go to yale. She got a 2300 on her sat, she's 3rd in her class, she plays d1 basketball, speaks 6lang, plays 1st chair sax and sleeps 2hrs a week. Can she make it???"</p>
<p>c'mon now. its unhealthy..but i'm getting on a tangent. gnite.</p>
<p>Most posters do not have disdain for non-Ivy schools...they really don't. They may have their sights set on such--as your example would indicate--but that doesn't mean that a non-Ivy school is unacceptable. </p>
<p>There are certainly exceptions (although, the worst offenders are trolls, not serious posters), but while CC is certainly Ivy centric, I do not think that it is by and large disdainful of non-Ivy schools.</p>
<p>waitlisted at H, got into BU. Never wanted to go to harvard, too cut throat, just wanted to see if i'd get in. Shocker i didnt.</p>
<p>I find it kind of funny b/c nobody truly truly understands the application process. A relative of mine works on NYU's admissions board. You'd be shocked how many 4.0's dont get in and how many 3.0's and 3.5's do.It's so contrived. I go to a uncompetitive h.s in brooklyn. soo many kids got into yale,nyu,bu,bowdoin,smith,MIT,Upenn, and this from an impact school! my schools graduation rate is something like 65%.</p>
<p>I repeat, i dont mean to sound hostile(i sense some), I dont mean to belittle anyone who is still going through the process but looking back on it, i had an epiphany(sp) of sorts. i just think working yourself like a dog, being unhappy it isn't worth it and i witnessed it firsthand and i'm sure some kids here are doing it right now. Thats not what they're looking for. </p>
<p>and i'm sure some of you are curious</p>
<p>GPA-3.3
SAT-2100
Extra-rainbow alliance, volleyball capt, drama club
Intern- prospect park zoo
job-lifeguard
income-desperately broke..
south american/afro-american</p>
<p>
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Never wanted to go to harvard, too cut throat,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You think Harvard is cutthroat, but BU isn't? I don't know about that one. Harvard is known for extremely high graduation rates and grade inflation. Even if you don't do well at Harvard, you are still almost certainly going to graduate, as practically nobody actually flunks out. It's a totally different story at BU, where flunking out is a real possibility.</p>
<p>Personally, I think that the way Harvard runs its program is exactly the way it ought to be, and that other schools should do the same. The notion that schools will admit large numbers of students only to flunk a bunch of them out is simply offensive - as it just wastes everybody's time. If a guy isn't going to graduate, then the best thing to do is just not to admit him in the first place. Let him go to a school from which he will graduate.</p>
<p>On a serious note, (very rare for me, especially on CC):</p>
<p>Elitist attitudes--in college admissions, on CC, and elsewhere--often go hand-in-hand with materialistic ethics and weltanschaungs. Despite evidence that most find these lifestyles dissatisfying, many CCers cling to 'reputations' (re: colleges, jobs, etc) for self-justification--no amount of contradictory evidence will dislodge them.</p>
<p>Why? Social pressure. Even though CCers are, for the most part, intelligent, some of them (seem to) do almost exclusively what society tells them to do. For example, how many times have regulars on these boards read stuff like this: I'm going to (school x) because (so-and-so) says it's well-respected. Or: I'm going to be a (job x) because it's a safe bet that it'll make me a lot of money. Etc. etc.</p>
<p>I'm 25 now, and I'm seeing it with my own friends: those who follow society's advice regarding what to do with their lives, and use society's judgements to justify their choices--rather than follow their own consciences--it's a disaster... Among the smart and ambitious kids of our generation, 'elitism' is going to lead to a lot of trouble, I've got a feeling.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You think Harvard is cutthroat, but BU isn't? I don't know about that one. Harvard is known for extremely high graduation rates and grade inflation. Even if you don't do well at Harvard, you are still almost certainly going to graduate, as practically nobody actually flunks out. It's a totally different story at BU, where flunking out is a real possibility.
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</p>
<p>i'm starting to think my perspective is completely differen than everyone elses. I have three brothers, watched the first one have year long heart attack, and the rest of us learned from him. I started going on college visits at the end of my soph yr. When i first started I had every ivy on my list, and with every visit one would drop off. Harvard, just isn't my scene. At the time i very much wanted it to be my scene...but i came to the realization that i'm not that type of person. Now, with BU i know what you're talking about, but when i went there and stayed on campus it felt like a fit. The atmosphere to me was more relaxed. Campus life looked fun. Bowdoin is the ultimate in relaxed atmosphere..but its in Maine. Lang isnt giving me any money....and so on and so forth. So it looks like CUNY or SJU at least for the first semester. I plan on majoring in history and then going to law school so i can go into human rights law...i'm ranting arent i? ok i'm done.</p>